In Good Company
Cooking, community, and a recipe for Honey Caramel Apple Cake
Hello all,
I hope your holidays were warm, abundant, and full of quality time with loved ones, nourishing food, and some much needed rest. After a few weeks in Canada surrounded by family, friends, and festivities, my cup definitely feels full. As the sun sets on 2024 and a new year tiptoes on the horizon, these last days of December invite reflection and an opportunity to set intentions. This is—in a roundabout way—the subject of today’s newsletter.
Not long ago, while scrolling past another life-changing cookie recipe, a batch of flawless milk buns as round and golden as little suns, and the only salad dressing you’ll ever need, a feeling of doubt settled in my stomach. What’s the point? It wasn’t doubt about the recipes themselves—I love creating them and seeing each one come to life in your kitchens. But every time I upload a new one, it’s released into an endless sea of content, and I think we’re all having a hard time keeping up.
On the other side of this existential moment, one enduring thought stuck with me: cooking is rarely just about the food itself. It is an act that creates connection, a bridge between ourselves and the farmer who nurtured our carrots from seed or the family with whom we sit around the table. Cooking is an expression of love, a thread of memory, and a means of binding us to something greater than ourselves. If we look closely, it can be a reminder that we belong to a living, breathing web of relationships.
As humans, we’re wired for connection and research backs this up. Strong relationships aren’t just nice to have, they’re essential for our physical and mental health. One long-term Harvard study found that relationships are a better indicator of longevity than exercise, a healthy diet, career achievement, or money. When I reflect on my own life, many of my fondest memories revolve around the table and although at times these gatherings may be as flawed and messy as they are wonderful, with cheers, laughter, and the inevitable squabble or overcooked cake, they’re real. They’re human.
It’s this idea that I want to thread through the newsletter: that across cultures and time, food feeds our bodies and spirits in equal measure, binding us together.
Moving forward, there will continue to be a delicious recipe for you in every newsletter, but each one will arrive wrapped in a story. Whether a humble dinner enjoyed by olive farmers during the harvest in Greece or a thousand dinners prepared in a Sikh temple by hard-working volunteers, every other week, I will be exploring a different story about food’s capacity to connect us to one another, to the earth, and, ultimately, to something larger than ourselves.
I hope you stick with me and find inspiration in these recipes and stories, not just to cook, but to gather. To sit around your own table with friends and loved ones, new and old, and create moments of connection, in good company.
With that, I’ll leave you a recipe for Honey Caramel Apple Cake, to enjoy with those you love during the remaining days of this holiday season. Happy new year x
From the start of Autumn, apples seem to drop off of trees in my neighbourhood for a month on end, begging passersby to look up and acknowledge trees brimming with fruit overhead. Cold, crunchy, with firm skin and juicy interiors, I could easily eat several a day. Luckily, they keep well in cold storage or the refrigerator for a few months, so in the depths of winter, fruit picked in October is still perfectly good to eat and cook with.
There are few fruits as ubiquitous as apples, with the exception maybe of bananas, but not all are created equal, especially when it comes to baking. Apple varieties differ dramatically: tart, crisp Granny Smith feels worlds apart from bland, mealy Red Delicious and the number of varieties that are both widely grown and commercially available seems endless. For baking, a firm, sturdy and tart apple is best. Something that will balance and complement a cake or pastry’s sweetness and hold up to high temperatures without disintegrating into apple sauce. I recommend Granny Smith, Cortland, Pink Lady, Braeburn, or Fuji.
This upside-down cake, made with crisp, tart apples arranged over a honey caramel, is moist and nutty thanks to almond meal and is made even more indulgent alongside ice cream or custard. In the depths of winter, Autumnal fruit is welcome and with so many sweets circulating, this cake feels like a virtuous option for your holiday parties.
Makes one 9” (23 cm) cake
Ingredients:
For the cake:
170g / 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
250g / 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
180g almond meal
100g all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
120g plain, full fat yogurt or sour cream, room temperature
5-6 small or 3-4 large apples, peeled, halved, stems and cores removed
Vanilla ice cream or custard, to serve (optional)
For the caramel:
85g honey
42g butter, room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
30mL cream or milk, room temperature
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (170°C) and grease and line a 9” (23 cm) springform cake pan with parchment paper.
2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then, add the eggs, one at a time, allowing each to fully incorporate before adding the next.
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together ground almonds, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, gradually add the almond mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, then mix in the yogurt until combined. Set aside.
4. For the honey caramel, in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, bring the honey to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for 2 minutes, then add in the butter and salt. Once the butter is melted, let it bubble for another minute, then pour in the cream. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the caramel has thickened, then pour it into the base of your prepared cake pan. Arrange the apples on top, cut side down, then use a spatula to scoop the prepared cake batter over the apples, spreading it into an even layer. Bake the cake for 40 minutes at 350°F, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and bake for another 30-35 minutes until golden brown on top and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
5. Allow the cake to rest for at least 30 minutes. Then, run a knife around the edge of the pan, remove the ring and carefully invert the cake onto a serving platter. Pull away the base of the pan and the parchment, then serve the cake alongside vanilla ice cream or custard.
-When baking a cake in a springform pan, make sure that your pan is set up properly and doesn’t leak. I like to bake with a tray underneath just in case, to avoid any leakage that could lead to burning in the oven.
-If you have one, a melon baller works well to remove the cores of the apples. Otherwise, a small spoon will be fine to use here.
-Allowing the cake to cool slightly before removing it from the pan gives it a chance to set up and avoids any bits from slipping out of place, be patient!
-Pears can be easily substituted for apples in this cake and treated the same way. Look for firm, crisp pears to hold up in the oven.